‘Children strain our everyday lives…but also deepen them.’ This quotation, as much as the full title of the book, perfectly encapsulates the content of ‘All Joy and No Fun: the Paradox of Modern Parenthood’. I started reading the opening pages and was immediately hooked (I love reading about research in an accessible way); I took […]
As a parent / guardian, you want your children to be happy. More than that, you want them to be able to create their own secure, inner happiness that isn’t dependent upon treats and toys – lovely though a well-timed ice cream can be! How can we do this? The authors believe they have some […]
“Mum, I’m bored. What can I do?” As a parent, I have found this persistent cry deeply irritating – and genuinely confusing. My children are surrounded by toys, books, opportunities and activity books. They have access to a garden and to art materials, to siblings, cuddly toys and bicycles. How, I wonder, can they possibly […]
So this is 2020. I think most of us may be in need of a little light relief by now. This being the case, I should like to draw your attention towards the latest (highly entertaining) book from cartoonist and habitually overwhelmed mum of three boys, Katie Kirby. What’s it about? I am definitely going […]
Once upon a time I thought I was tired. I worked hard. I worked long hours, during term time at least. I loved my job and, as a teacher, I worked daily with groups of up to 31 children, who mostly did what I asked them to do. Then I had children of my own […]
Parenting. It’s a daily battle – but does it have to be? In ‘The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will be Glad That You Did)’, psychotherapist Phillipa Perry explores parent-child relationships with a view to encouraging parents to relate more effectively to their children. What’s it about? I’m going to […]
You know a book is good when you start reading it again by accident. I picked up ‘dummy’ to refresh my memory before committing myself to starting this review…and emerged midway through chapter two, having giggled and chuckled so much that my husband felt compelled to leave the comfort of the sofa and TV to […]
‘Mummy blogging’ is big news lately. In what seems to be a backlash against the mythical ideal of Perfect Parenting, especially Perfect Mothering, and Instagram worthy (#SoBlessed) family life, many bloggers are choosing to share their lives with small children, warts and all temper tantrums, last-minute school run dashes and all. Some particularly entertaining voices within […]
Parenting: everyone has opinions and most people are full of advice. Katie Kirby knows better. She knows that parents do their best, that the material they have to work with is occasionally (indeed – often) nearly impossible to fathom or direct, and that amusing anecdotes are far more helpful than any well-meaning advice. With that […]
Girls are in the news – for all the wrong reasons. Once upon a time, people worried rather a lot about boys; academically, they were trailing behind girls; culturally, they were struggling to find a place to fit into the modern world. In the last few years the media’s focus has shifted to the various pressures girls […]